NICHD’s
Newborn Screening Translational Research Network (NBSTRN) is a resource for investigators engaged in newborn screening related research. NBSTRN’s goal is to facilitate research to improve the health outcomes of newborns with genetic or congenital disorders through an infrastructure that provides the research community access to robust newborn screening resources.

Pediatric Growth and Nutrition Branch (PGNB)The PGNB, part of the DER, is the focal point within the NICHD for nutrition science and pediatric endocrine research and training. The PGNB is supporting several areas of research pertinent to infant care and infant health. For example, the
Growth and Development program is focusing on basic research about growth-promoting polypeptides and hypothalamic-releasing factors that interact to influence normal growth and physiological development. PGNB also supports basic and clinical studies of the etiology of growth retardation and treatment for this disorder.

Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch (PPB)The mission of the NICHD’s PPB, part of the DER, is to improve the health of mothers and children, with focuses on maternal health, pregnancy, fetal well-being, labor and delivery, and the developing child. The PPB supports research to determine the basic mechanisms of normal and disease processes; identify new treatments, methodologies, and preventive strategies; assess the dissemination and actual impact of therapeutic and preventive interventions; and increase scientific resources through recruitment and training of investigators.

The NICHD
Neonatal Research Network (NRN) is a collaborative network of 18 neonatal intensive care units and a data coordinating center, formed in 1986. NRN’s mission is “to facilitate the advancement of neonatal care by establishing a network of academic centers that, by rigorous patient evaluation using common protocols, can study the required numbers of patients and can provide answers more rapidly than individual centers acting alone.”

NICHD’s
Prenatal Alcohol and SIDS and Stillbirth (PASS) Network was formed in 2003 as a partnership between the PPB and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders joined this partnership in 2009. PASS is designed to conduct community-linked studies to investigate the role of prenatal exposure to alcohol in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as stillbirth and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), and how SIDS and these other outcomes may be interrelated.

Division of Intramural Research (DIR)Research within the NICHD’s DIR includes the development of vaccines for bacterial diseases, especially those found in children. DIR investigators study, uncover, and reevaluate clinical, epidemiologic, and immunologic data. They evaluate investigational vaccines suitable for clinical study in experimental animals and then submit them to the appropriate institutional review board and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for evaluation of their safety and immunogenicity in adults, children, and infants, and, finally, for their efficacy.

Safe to Sleep® Public Education CampaignThe NICHD is the lead agency in support of the Safe to Sleep campaign. This important educational effort, formerly known as the Back to Sleep campaign, focuses on actions parents and infant caregivers can take to help infants sleep safely and to reduce the risk of SIDS and other causes of infant death. The Safe to Sleep® campaign incorporates the NICHD’s research findings on SIDS, as well as the latest safe sleep recommendations.

Child Health USA 2011 This report of the Health Resources and Services Administration (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) is the 21st annual statistical report to highlight the health status and service needs of America's children. It provides data to practitioners of child health to assist them in planning, developing, and implementing effective programs to meet public health challenges related specifically to children. The report contains easy-to-access graphs and charts summarizing significant indicators of children's health status and offers statistics, figures, and references.

Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies This report by the Institute of Medicine reviews factors related to overweight and obesity among children from birth to age 5 years, with a focus on nutrition, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. It recommends policies that can alter children's environments to promote the maintenance of healthy weight. The first years of life are important to health status and well-being throughout the life span, and preventing obesity in infants and young children can contribute to reversing the epidemic of obesity in children and adults.

NICHD, Healthy Native Babies Training Resource (PDF - 3.59 MB) The information and materials created for the Healthy Native Babies Project were crafted and revised with the feedback of American Indian/Alaska Native community members, who used the messages at numerous trainings held in U.S. Northern Tier communities. The aim of this resource is preventing SIDS in American Indian/Alaska Native communities

NIH Fact Sheet: Infant Health (PDF - 412KB) This two-pager published in 2010 highlights some of the transformative research developments made possible through NIH that have improved outcomes for infants. It also outlines some of the challenges ahead.

Please note: Links to organizations and information included on this page do not indicate endorsement from the NICHD, NIH, or HHS.​​​